Detroit Teen Pleads Guilty To Killing His Mother, Faces Up To 52 Years In Prison

Joshua Smith isn’t even old enough to drive, but he’s looking to spend more than 50 years behind bars. The 14-year-old entered a guilty plea Monday (Sept. 17) to second-degree murder, felony firearm charge for killing his mother in her sleep.

According to police, on Feb. 27 Smith broke into the family safe to retrieve his stepfather’s gun which he used to shoot his mother—36-year-old,Tamika Robinson—after an argument about him not being allowed to have girls over, and boys who she thought were a bad influence.

Robinson’s finance, Chicko Lewis, testified that he was sleep in a back room, when Smith took his mother’s life. After hearing gun shots, he attempted to get away with his 5-year-old daughter in his arms. “Blood was just pouring,” he said of seeing Robinson. “She was lying there taking awful gasping deep breaths.” After noticing Smith standing on the staircase still holding the weapon, Lewis begged the boy to spare his life. “He was holding my shotgun and pointing it directly at me,” Lewis said. “I had my daughter in my arms. I was just saying, ‘Please, please, please.’”

The Detroit teen was charged as an adult and faces between 27 and 52 years in prison, but will likely spend 25-50 years in custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 26.

In an ironic twist, Smith shares the exact same name as a 9-year-old boy in Detroit who opened a lemonade stand to raise money for the economically strapped city.